Vance Says US Is Israel’s Only Ally; Netanyahu Cites India’s Support

JERUSALEM-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against Vice President J.D. Vance’s remarks that the United States is Israel’s “only powerful ally,” highlighting India’s “tremendous support” for Israel.

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu described India as a “friend” of Israel and said he receives overwhelming support from Indians on social media. He also called President Donald Trump “the greatest friend we’ve ever had in the White House.”

Responding to Vance’s remarks, Netanyahu said, “We have a very good relationship, but it doesn’t mean that I agree with everything that he says, and I have to point  this out. Donald Trump is a great, the greatest friend we’ve ever had in the White House, and I stand by that completely. Secondly, we have some other friends like the small country called India. It has 1.4 billion people, and boy, do we have a tremendous support there. This Facebook thing, I am just flooded by the overwhelming support there, and we have many others.”

Netanyahu also said it had become “fashionable” in some countries for the media and social media to be “inundated with anti-Israel, antisemitic material.” Without naming any country, he said several world leaders privately expressed support for Israel despite domestic public opinion, adding that they sought cooperation with Israel in areas such as defense, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

“Many leaders call me up and say, ‘Hey, look, I have got this problem with public opinion, but I want you to know we respect you,’ and ‘can we do some deals, and can you teach us some of the things that your military does, can we have some of your AI and cyber expertise?’ Israel is number two country in the world. Our technology is so good. So, the relations are not quite as they appear, and we have many, many friends, and I have to tell you we take care of our friends, especially the Christians in the Middle East,” he said.

Netanyahu’s remarks came after Vance defended President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Iran conflict and said the United States was Israel’s “only powerful ally.” Speaking at a White House press briefing on June 18, Vance said, “My message to them would be two-fold, number 1 – Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of the state of the world’s superpower.”

“If I were in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance added. (IANS)